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What Causes Swelling And Restricted Movement In The Hands?
I have severe swelling of my hands with pain in my palms at the site of my knuckle. They are so swollen in the morning not permitting me to make a fist. I am a healthy 68 yr old woman. My back has been itching. My feet hurt on the top. My nails do not look healthhy. I cannot get into a rheumatologist until February. Blood tests have come back normal.
Fri, 7 Oct 2016
Hello.
As I am sure you do suspect, your symptoms do seem to suggest rheumatoid arthritis.
Ideally rheumatoid arthritis needs disease modifying agents like methotrexate, hydrochloroquine sulfate, etc which are all prescription drugs. Since you cannot see your rheumatologist till February, it is difficult to obtain them before.
A few measures might help relieve the symptoms to a small extent.
1. Soak your hands in warm salty water for about 5-10 mins every morning. This might help relieve the swelling and lessen the pain.
2. Hot water fomentation with hot water bags will help the pain in hands, back and feet during daytime.
3. During idle time too, keep moving the fingers and toes - as the characteristic of pain in rheumatoid arthritis or any other inflammatory joint condition is that it increases at rest.
4. Get an RA factor and anti-CCP blood test, if not already done. These will help during your consultation with a rheumatologist.
5. Take a short course of pain killers like paracetamol or diclofenac during times when pain increases a lot. Opioids like Tramadol also help. All these medications are available over the counter in most countries. However, donot take diclofenac, ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen for longer than 2 weeks at a time as they are known to cause kidney problems.
Hope this helps. Wishing you good health.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
As I am sure you do suspect, your symptoms do seem to suggest rheumatoid arthritis.
Ideally rheumatoid arthritis needs disease modifying agents like methotrexate, hydrochloroquine sulfate, etc which are all prescription drugs. Since you cannot see your rheumatologist till February, it is difficult to obtain them before.
A few measures might help relieve the symptoms to a small extent.
1. Soak your hands in warm salty water for about 5-10 mins every morning. This might help relieve the swelling and lessen the pain.
2. Hot water fomentation with hot water bags will help the pain in hands, back and feet during daytime.
3. During idle time too, keep moving the fingers and toes - as the characteristic of pain in rheumatoid arthritis or any other inflammatory joint condition is that it increases at rest.
4. Get an RA factor and anti-CCP blood test, if not already done. These will help during your consultation with a rheumatologist.
5. Take a short course of pain killers like paracetamol or diclofenac during times when pain increases a lot. Opioids like Tramadol also help. All these medications are available over the counter in most countries. However, donot take diclofenac, ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen for longer than 2 weeks at a time as they are known to cause kidney problems.
Hope this helps. Wishing you good health.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
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